Certification and Real Estate Donations
ZLI's Little Birds Initiative Bird-friendly Certification Levels
ZLI's Little Birds Initiative Partial Interest Donations
For qualifying buildings, ZLI offers a structured partial donation model through ZLI's Little Birds Initiative to maximize donor incentives and charitable impact.
Owners may donate building façades (or entire shells) as a separately deeded property (similar to a condo), while retaining ownership and use of retained occupiable portions.
This approach simplifies tax implications while creating net positive liquidity, allowing for the continued financial exploitation of real estate holdings. Unlike the former case
of entire building donations, here the charity agrees in its acceptance documents not to sell such holdings without donor approval, and only then to a new buyer
under strict compliance with IRS Regulations. The results are improved development finances and pursuit of community interests via bird protections.
ZLI Little Birds Partial Interest Donations are to be certified and accompanied by a stewardship contribution, proporptional to the anticipated tax deduction / refund.
Stewardship is determined by certification level (ZLI Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum), at (25%, 20%, 15%, 10%) real estate donation appraised FMV.
- Signage shall be sent to participant properties for display, to promote bird-friendly design and ensure maximum CSR Value to donors.
A portion of the stewardship (75%) is set aside for ZLI aligned charitable spending at donor discretion
(scholarships, ZALA monitoring, bird-friendly design installations, supportive media),
(the rest helps ZLI manage and develop the Initiative)
Compliance
ZLI does not provide legal, tax, or appraisal advice. Donors should consult their own advisors. Real estate contributions may require independent valuation and IRS documentation.